


Growing up is hard. Parenting too.

by RoseDelSol



Series: Harry Potter Short Stories [7]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: And a whole bunch of Potter-Weasleys, Gen, Ignores the Cursed Child, Next Generation, overuse of the term Potter-Weasley-Clan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-29
Updated: 2018-04-24
Packaged: 2018-08-23 09:50:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8323321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseDelSol/pseuds/RoseDelSol
Summary: Various scenes from what I head canon to have happened when the next generation of Potters, Weasleys and Malfoys entered Hogwarts.---Draco can't remember much from the previous evening. He wishes he didn't remember at all. The hangover is not even remotely matching the headache his SON has given him within the last 48 hours.Really, he only just let him go on the train the day before YESTERDAY, and already he is causing a drama. What did Draco ever do to deserve this?





	1. Sorting Day Hangover

**Author's Note:**

> Reposts from my tumblr. Order changed slightly, to follow a chronological order

When Ronald Weasley, Auror and part of the so-called golden Trio, woke up the morning of September 3rd it took him some time to register where he was - let alone how he had gotten there.

His head felt as if it had been split open in the middle, leaving his brain out in the open, vulnerable and far too sensitive to any sound or other stimulus. He felt sick and why, oh why could the world not stop turning… Ron was pretty sure that he hadn’t had such a bad hangover in a very, very long time - probably not since he had caught his baby sister having sex with his best mate on the sofa at his parents place.

Thinking about that particular incident he'd rather have been able to forget made his hangover considerably worse - if that was at all possible - and he groaned. Ron slowly, oh so slowly turned onto his back and blinked up towards the ceiling.

The room was dimly lit, probably curtains drawn somewhere over windows he didn’t care to look for. He was just glad the sun was blocked out of this little piece of hell he was currently occupying. Cause nothing but hell could be as bad as the hangover he was suffering from now. Hell, he was a grown up man, he should know better than to get this drunk. Then again….

A pained groan from his left made him look to his side, then down to the floor. There, on the plush carpet, lay his best friend dash brother in law. The reason he got into more trouble that he cared to remember, and apparently still, after over a decade of legal drinking age, the guy to get drunk with (except, mind you, when the guy was the reason you needed to get drunk). Harry seemed to be able to handle his hangover better, as he sat up and slowly looked around the room. “Where are we?”, he asked, only to flinch (same as Ron) at the too loud sound of his own voice. “No idea…” murmured the Weasley and dropped back onto his back.

Before either of them could muster the will to get up and actually investigate where they were, a third voice joined their groaning, and Ron was pretty sure he would have fallen flat on his ass had he not been laying on his back already. “Shut ‘p”, the all too familiar voice muttered from somewhere across the room. Somewhere neither Ron nor Harry could see because for that they would have had to lift their heads from their pillows and that was just.. No.

“What in Merlin’s name are you doing here, Malfoy?” Ron silently congratulated Harry for forming such a clear and pointed sentence. He himself didn’t feel like communicating in more than grunts at the moment, grunts and maybe two word sentences.

“‘S my stupid flat you idiot.”, came the reply that had Ron bolt upright on his bed. Sofa, not bed, he realised a few moments later, as soon as the headache had ebbed away enough that he could see beyond the blinding pain. Harry had apparently had more sense and only very slowly and carefully raised himself up on his elbows to look around.

Now that he was paying attention (a little at least, the rest of him was busy with not embarrassing himself further in front of his arch enemy by puking all over his jeans), he noticed that the dominating colours in the room were various shades of green, and a dark, shining brown from the wooden furniture. Looked like Malfoy indeed.

 

It seemed the blond had finally registered that something was very, very wrong. He carefully sat up in his makeshift bed of cushions and looked at them. “What are you two still doing here?” He asked very carefully. Ron was sure Malfoy was suffering from a hangover as well, cause that was the only explanation why he wouldn’t use this very clear advantage to mock Harry and Ron mercilessly - and loudly. “No idea.”, Harry offered as an answer.

Malfoy stared at him with an annoyed, almost pitting look in his eyes. “You Gryffindor’s really don’t know how to handle your liquor, hm?” Ron just shrugged. He was in desperate need of a glass of water and some proper breakfast to get rid of the nauseating feeling in his stomach. He would bother to remember the reason for his hangover when he didn’t think he was going to throw up any minute. “We got the letters with the Sorting results into the office yesterday."

The three men worked together at the Ministry and had - almost at the same time - received a late-night owl from their children (in Ron’s case Hermione Weasly, cause Rose had not dared to upset her father so). Right… Sorting. His pretty little baby had been sorted into Slytherin. “I’ll burn that stupid Sorting hat”, Ron cursed, as soon as he remembered. Malfoy snorted. “That was the first thing you said yesterday. Once you could breath again, of course.”

“Oh shut up, you.”, Ron growled back, but there was no real bite behind it. Apparently, if you collectively drank yourself into a stupor in the hope to forget about your children’s decisions in Hogwarts house and of friends, you stopped being all that nasty towards each other. Or maybe it would all be back to normal as soon as the morning-after-hangover passed because, honestly, Ron didn’t think he could handle being on friendly terms with Draco Malfoy in addition to his beloved daughter being a Slytherin.

For this was indeed the reason the three men - once arch enemies - were now laying groggily around in a darkened flat in London and groaning about their individual hangovers. Rose Weasley and Albus Severus Potter, both part of traditional Gryffindor families, had been sorted into Slytherin. Why? That Ron could not tell, but he was very sure Harry had an idea. He would ask him about it (again?), as soon as the world stopped turning around him.

That was obviously not the reason Draco Malfoy had joined their merry little drinking misery, nooo.. It got worse. Because would you guess, Rose and Albus had decided to become best friends with one Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy on the train ride to Hogwarts.  
Ron vaguely remembered having received a memo from his brother informing him that he was betting 5 galeons on Albus-Rose-Scorpius being the new Golden Trio before he completely drowned his senses in Fire Whiskey.

“Why would they do this to us?”, Ron asked no one in particular. Harry gave a hollow laugh. “Because they can. The Sorting Hat lets you choose, remember?” “But why would they want to be in Slytherin?”

“Cause they made a friend on the train, and if there is one thing Slytherin is known for - other than being the house that spawned dozens of Death Eather and the Dark Lord - then it’s for the friendships.”, Draco piped up. Ron briefly wondered when he had switched to call the man Draco in his head. Probably somewhere between the second and third bottle of Fire Whiskey…

“So they decided to befriend your son, and collectively came to the conclusion that this would give their fathers the most grey hair?”, Ron wanted to know. “Probably…”, Draco replied with a empty voice - he was obviously not over the shock yet either. Good.

“And if you ever needed a proof that all three of them belong to Slytherin, that was it.”, Harry muttered finally and sunk back onto the pillow.

They had very, very long seven years coming, Ron just knew it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love the idea of Draco, Ron, and Harry bonding over Firewhiskey because of their respective offspring.
> 
> The other chapters will focus more on Rose, Albus, and Scorpius
> 
>  
> 
> Kudos & Reviews make the author a happy bunny - talk to me about my stories, and I'll ramble back!


	2. The Lake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little refuge by the lake side on a autumn day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is part of an AU where Severus Snape survives - refer to part 3 of this series "Traitor, Spy, Surviver" for a little more detail

Rose Weasly had had enough.

It was Friday, unfortunately one of her longest days in the week (why, oh why, had she listened to her mother - again - and added Muggle Studies to her already overly crowded time table) and she had had Quidditch training the night before.  
Friday’s were always hell. And to top off an already horrible week, Potions had been an absolute killer.  
She was in her fourth year only, and she would bet her broom on it, they were brewing far too advanced potions at the moment. It was ridiculous, really. Rose knew for a fact that Veristaserum was NOT part of the fourth year curriculum. Hell, she had even looked it up when Professor Snape had mentioned it two weeks ago.  
On the other hand, she was pretty sure that the grim, mean professor was surprisingly impressed with his current class, otherwise he would not have given them such a difficult potion - and this despite the fact their were mostly Weasleys and Potters. Then again, some of these Potters and Weasleys (namely Albus Severus Potter and Rose Weasley) were part of the Slytherin house, which must be the point of endless jibes from Snape's side towards Headmistress McGonagall and Professor Charlie Weasley (Care of Magical Creatures).  
It had taken the families some getting used to, that was clear. And not only had Rose decided (because really, it had been her decision to follow her favourite cousin to the Slytherin house) to join the snakes, no. They had also befriended Draco Malfoy’s son, Scorpius and become the new Golden Trio - though they preferred to refer to themselves as the Silver Trio, because Gold was so last year (and Gryffindor, for that matter).

But this weeks, despite the excellent Potions result at the end of the day, had been too much for her.  
Rose loved her two best friends, but sometimes she needed some time alone, particularly because she didn’t really have a girl friend in her house, and once it was THAT time of the month, solitude was her only salvation from stupid-boys-jokes.  
It wasn’t that bad today. Today she just needed some peace and quiet from her overly-chatty, never-tired friends. So Rose had packed her bag, rushed out of the Dungeons before neither Albus nor Scorpius had had a chance to react, and power-walked to the lake.

Since the time of her parents, the lake hadn’t changed much. There still lived meerfolk, there was still an enormous kraken habituating its deeper regions, and there was still the issue of Grindelos.  
What had changed however was the vegetation around it. More trees and bushes which offered secluded spots, where one could hide for a few moments, before anyone would find you, not even nosy cousins and blond friends.

Rose squeezed past a couple of bushes, ducked under a low growing willow tree and came out onto a tiny clearing, right at the lakeside. It couldn’t be seen from most of the bigger and more popular shores, and had so far remained a secret known only to one Rose Weasley.  
She dropped her bag and then herself onto the dry earth, then flopped back onto her back and stretched. Winter was in the air and most of the colourful leaves had already fallen, and even now, in the mid-afternoon the temperature was dropping close to uncomfortable.  
The redhead didn’t mind too much. She usually calmed down really quickly when laying at the like side, and worst case if she got too cold, there were always portable blue fires - though those tended to be spotted by nosy cousins and friends. The girl sighed contently and blinked up into the deep blue sky, Without boys, life could be so calm, and convenient, and oh did she mention calm? Why did she chose the two trouble makers number one as her best friends again? Right… Because they were also funny, and real good friends whenever you needed them (except, of course, if you had a crush on someone because then Albus would surly alert the entire clan - her father included - and call war on the poor bloke), and they were also really, really good at Quidditch.  
It still broke her entire families hearts that Slytherin was now winning the House Cup almost every year again, eventhough it was mainly due to Rose's Batter, and Albuss Seeker skill. Oh yeah, and probably Scopius being an excellent chaser, too, but that was just secondary really. She smirked. It was the running gang amongst the Potter-Weasley-Clan. The only family member that was not blood was the pure blood Malfoy brat - though Rose was pretty sure she had heard some of her aunts bet on this only being a question of time and she deeply hoped they meant Scorp and Al were about to become blood brothers, because just imagining any of her cousins starting anything with Scorpius was just ewww…

Rose smiled up at the branches and leaves and the blue, blue sky and sighed once more. As usual, her hiding place at the lake had calmed her right down, and she was now ready to face the madness of her family and friends once again.  
She got up, brushed dry leaves from her robes and went back the way she came, under the tree and past the bushes up to the castle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little something on Rose.  
> I have read The Cursed Child, and I appreciate the characterisation in that one, but... Well, I'm a fanfiction author, so I basically do what I want...
> 
>  
> 
> Kudos & Reviews make the author a happy bunny - talk to me about my stories, and I'll ramble back!


	3. The Exploding Alarm Clocks

When Rose Weasley told her uncles about the exploding alarm she had seen on the Internet, she really, really didn’t foresee what would follow the casual remark.

It had been a terribly uneventful and comfortable afternoon at the Burrow. Most of the older children had come to visit Molly and Arthur for a few days over the summer break and the house was packed with Hogwarts students.

Rose had gone for a shopping trip in Muggle London with her friends and now excitedly told the gathered family about the things they had seen.

Most Weasley kids had visited Muggle London on one or another occasion. They all had mobile phones (useless when they were at Hogwarts, but in Hogwarts they could hex and send owls, so it really didn’t matter that much), went to Muggle concerts and to the cinema.

Because Rose was a talkative young woman, and her Grandda’ Weasley still loved everything muggle, she came to mention the phenomena of Exploding Alarm Clocks, completely unaware of George Wesley sitting at the table and listening _very_ carefully to her every word.

A few weeks later Rose would be cursing herself to the seventh circle of Hell and back for her carelessness.

For a few weeks later marked their first school day back at Hogwarts. It was also the day the entire Potter-Weasley-and-Extensions-Clan came to breakfast with burnt hair and deep frowns on their faces.

What had happened?

Well, it’s obvious, isn’t it? George Wesley and his oh-so-brilliant ideas had happened. This time namely the idea of real-actually-seriously-exploding alarm clocks. Most students had taken to bring alarm clocks to Hogwarts, as they were available entirely mechanical and therefore not affected by the non-electricity charms on the school grounds.

Somehow George had managed to replace all their alarm clocks with his latest invention - Exploding Alarm (“Start your day with a bang - _literally_ ”). From what Rose could gather at the first glance, the entire Potter-Weasley-and-so-on-clan had been unpleasantly surprised that morning.

Rose stopped at the door to the Great Hall and met Scorpius’ eyes. His hair was remarkably shorter this morning compared to the previous evening, and Albus - sitting beside his best friend at the Slytherin table - was missing his right eyebrow.

“I’ll kill him. I swear to Merlin, I will kill him”, Roxanne fumed, coming to a halt beside her cousin. Rose smirked. Roxanne was usually safe from George’s pranks - mostly because she was his daughter, but also because he was usually too obvious about his plans around his children, so Roxanne picked up on it and then proceeded to find a way to escape the latest disaster.

Judged by the unhappy expression on her face and the burnt locks, this time had been the rare exception.

“Easy there, Roxy. I’ll fix your hair after breakfast, ok?”, Rose countered, laughing and dragged her cousin behind her to into the Great Hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tiny little drabble in between. I imagine that the children have to be very careful what they say around George (and Ron), especially about Muggle things.   
> And let’s be honest – George would totally build an exploding alarm
> 
> Kudos make a happy author. Reviews are love.


	4. Breaking the Habit

****

It was really just a question of time before one of the good girls of the extensive Potter-Weasley-Clan broke with the family traditions and decided to rebel.

And if you asked Hermione Weasley-Granger after everything was said and done for and the dust had settled somewhat, she would tell you she had known it would happen eventually - there were just too many of them around, one would eventually break away from the big flow.

What no one expected though, was that it would be Rose Wealsey of all people. Then again, it should have been obvious, really.

The scandal of both her and Albus Severus Potter being part of Slytherin had blown over surprisingly soon (minus Ron, who still sometimes mourned the loss of another successful Gryffindor-Weasley; but even he only did that late on Christmas day when he was drunk on festivities and family and eggnog). The summer break between Rose’s sixth and seventh year, however, marked another huge shock for the clan.

 

It all started on a rainy afternoon which Rose had spent away from home.

She had just needed some time to breath, some time away from her home. The overflowing love of her family could sometimes be very exhausting. Don’t get this wrong, Rose absolutely adored her family. However, sometimes their perfect acceptance and never-wavering love was almost too perfect to be true; appeared like an act. Sure, her Dad nearly had a heart attack when she had been sorted into Slytherin, but even her Granddad Arthur hadn’t said anything negative to her about it - though she was sure that was mainly due to the combined effort of Hermione, Ginny and Molly Weasley.

Then, there had been the incident with the burnt library table - it honestly had been an accident - still Rose had been sure her mother would have a screaming fit as soon as she heard about it. No such thing. Hermione Weasley had merely frowned and asked if any of the books had been damaged - no - and then resumed stirring in one of the pots on the hearth.

Last but not least, Rose had failed to make it to the Quidditch team on her first try in second year. It hadn’t even been on purpose, there were simply too many skilled Keepers that year, and as a second year she had been too small, too thin, and just a little too breakable. It hadn’t mattered to her dad, despite that fact that he had told her she absolutely had to make the team, he hadn’t said anything negative - try again next year, honey - and that was it.

Rose stomped through the damp and cold streets of London, somehow upset with her family’s acceptance. It was just… She hated being the perfect little princess. That was Lily’s job. She was a Slytherin. She was not supposed to be the Golden Girl, the shiny hero of the family (Lily hadn’t bothered with Quidditch, she preferred to work with her hands, which was kind of a first in the family since uncle Charlie). Rose was so done with it all.

Sure, having an accepting family was awesome. But it took away any and all fight from a person. None of the Potter-Weasley children ever had to fight for acceptance anywhere - not even the odd Slytherin ones. And it was just… too easy. It was boring basically. It almost felt to Rose as if she didn’t deserve it all, because she never had to fight for it.

Lost in her thoughts she had stopped in front of a hairdresser’s window. Huh... Why not.

On a whim, she entered the muggle shop, asking if they had any free appointments - not for colours, but they could squeeze her in at the end of the afternoon for a cut. Rose smiled, suddenly in a far less sombre mood.

She left the shop, nearly crashing into another pedestrian.

“Careful, fire girl.” Only one person ever called her that - and despite the initial assumption it was not because of her naturally fiery hair, but because she had nearly set their common room on fire in her third week at Hogwarts.

“Hullo Scorp. What you up to?” she mumbled, somehow suddenly embarrassed for her juvenile plan to radically change her appearance - without telling even her best friends about it. “Clothes shopping. You coming along?” She shook her head, still too embarrassed with herself - what had she been thinking making that hair dressers appointment! - and tried to get away from her best friend.

The thing was, Scorpius knew her for far too long to fall for such a feeble attempt to escape. “You. Me. Coffee. Now!”, he ordered and dragged her along to a surprisingly secluded coffee shop. It only housed a couple of tables, two of which were empty.

Scorpius pushed her into one of the empty chairs and went to get them big, steaming mugs of coffee. Once he set them down on the table and took a seat himself, he focused his gaze on Rose. The girl had her eyes locked out of the window across the street, staring intensely at the sign of a Tattoo and Piercing shop. Scorpius raised an eyebrow. “Rose… What’s going on?”

Unwillingly, the girl forced her eyes away from a particularly colourful full-back tattoo she had been studying and looked at her best friend: “Nothing.” “Liar.”, he countered: “And a bad one, too.”

Rose sighed. Why did she have to run into Scorpius of all people. Why not some random Muggle who would have snapped at her and then left. But no, she had to nearly knock the youngest Malfoy over and was now stuck with him. “I'm… I…” She tried, really did. She just didn’t know how to put her feelings about her parents in words.

Scorpius crocked his head to the left, like he often did when he tried to read her mind (figuratively speaking, Legilimency was not approved amongst friends, nor students in general for that matter). “You’re getting a haircut”, he stated after a few moments: “Broken heart? Who do I need to hex?” Rose’s lips twitched. Scorpius (and the entire male part of her extensive family) were quite protective of her heart, which she found ridiculous, however she had no saying what so ever in the matter.

“No one. It’s not a broken heart. I just…” she trailed off once more: “I just need a change of style. Somehow find something for myself that will hopefully distance me somewhat from my family.” She shook her head. “Am I making any sense?”

Scorpius was silent for a long while, just staring at her while he drank his coffee. “So, what are we talking about? Dying your hair black and cutting all your skirts short, or…?”

Rose released a long, slow breath somehow relieved that this was Scorpius’ reaction to her plans. Though he still didn’t actually know them. Then again, maybe it would have been better if he fought her a little. Because here it was again, this stupid acceptance she got everywhere, no matter what she did. She furrowed her brows: “No. I’m getting an undercut, probably. Or just real short hair… ” Her eyes wandered past her friend again and locked on the shop on the opposite side of the street: “And a couple of piercings, too. Maybe a tattoo.” Her friend rose an eyebrow. “Rose, do you really think that’s a good idea. I…”

And there it was - finally - the resistance she had been hoping for. The doubt in her friend’s eyes that she was doing the right thing, that maybe - just maybe - this was the most stupid idea she had ever had. It felt glorious.

“It’s a brilliant idea!”, Rose replied. She drowned her coffee and got up. “Have fun clothes shopping. I’ll see you in a few days for the annual school material shopping trip latest?” Scorpius nodded slowly, somehow stunned into silence by her sudden change of behaviour.

He watched her leave the coffee shop, cross the street and enter the Tattoo & Piercing store. One part of him wanted to run after her and stop her, the other part really wanted to know where she would get the piercing - and what kind of tattoo she would get, if she really went through with that plan.

 

When Rose came home that evening, she caused a scandal so far unmatched in the Potter-Weasley-Clan.

The whole family had gathered at the Burrow to have a last dinner together before the school preparations would keep everyone busy again; and then the kids would be leaving for school the week after. Rose came late, which really should have been the first indication that something was off.

Molly Weasley had invited most of the family’s friends as well, and so Scorpius sat in a corner taking turns playing chess against either Ron or Charlie. Albus was looking over their shoulder, while his little sister eagerly discussed a new species she assumed she had discovered with Luna Scramander and her husband.

Hermione, Ginny and Angelina were helping Molly with the cooking, while Fleur and her two daughters were busy setting the table. Sometimes Scorpius wondered how they all even fit inside the Burrow - the building was tiny, full of narrow corridors and corners, heaven the bedrooms were just big enough to fit three mattresses! Then again, they were all wizards and witches, and the blond boy was pretty sure the Burrow was a lot smaller when he and Albus were the only ones visiting…

No matter how they all fit, Rose was still late. And Scorpius grew more nervous by the second, for he was the only one who could even remotely guess just what was about to happen when his friend finally made her appearance. He had briefly considered to bring ear plugs, but then decided that this would have been a tad too suspicious, especially to his best mate Albus, who never missed silly details like that.

In the end, it came as it had to. Rose opened the door, all heads turned to her since she was the last to arrive, and time seemed to stand still for a moment. A moment exactly long enough for various family member to register that the person entering the room was indeed Rose Weasley, and to draw a preparing breath for their respective screaming fits.

Molly dropped the spoon she had been holding, and the sound of it hitting the floor seemed to pierce the near-magic silence that had fallen over the room, and then the shouting began. Scorpius instinctively covered his ears and ducked further into his chair. From the corner of his eyes he risked a glance at Rose.

She hadn’t gone through with the undercut idea, but her hair was cropped extremely short, leaving her ears free, where Scorpius counted at least four piercings. Another piercing was visible on her bottom lip, reflecting the light. The screaming got louder - Ron had returned from the back yard where he had collected some additional wood for the fire. Albus squeezed into the seat beside Scorpius, clearly hiding as well.

Her hair hadn’t been the only thing that had been changed. Rose wore a form-fitting black shirt with a flowing neckline – and when the heck had she grown those tits, Scropius wondered - and an even lower cut back, as Scorpius discovered when she turned to face her father. Albus gasped in shock, and Scorpoius was sure his mouth was hanging open in the most unfavourable manner. But he couldn’t help it.

Across her back, still covered in cellophane was a tattoo. The lines seemed to be burnt onto her reddened skin, the parts which were shaded an angry pink. Scorpius had to admit, the green and black dragon was damn impressive, though he was sure that you were not supposed to get that many body modifications done in only one session, let alone get a tattoo of that size finished in one afternoon.

His thoughts were drowned out, when Roxanne walked past her cousin and mentioned - somehow audible over the screeching noise coming from the rest of the family - that she liked the tattoo, though she would have preferred something with blue (Roxanne had been sorted into Ravenclaw, to the grief of her father George). The comment raised a new wave of outraged screams, and Scorpius now deeply regretted not having brought the ear plugs.

Rose smirked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is a bit wobbly regarding storytelling, but it was more of a drabble to begin with, and I just wanted to post it, to finally complete this story/ series. So there…
> 
> Still, Kudos make a happy author. Reviews are love.


	5. Nightly Talks and Shallow Wishes

In the end, it was George Weasley of all people who got the commotion to calm down a little. Grandma Molly helped too, since she begrudgingly pointed out that dinner would go to waste if the sauce remained on the fire any longer. And since a good part of the family - mainly the boys and men - were primarily directed by the needs of their stomach, the discussion came to a (temporary) end.

As the majority of the Potter-Weasley-and-extensions-clan present had screamed themselves sore, dinner proceeded in an unusually quiet manner.

Scorpius and Albus sat on either side of Rose at the table and watched their best friend anxiously. The boys could feel and see the glances that were thrown in Rose’s direction and Scorpius secretly wondered how she managed to appear so oblivious about the entire attention directed at her. Whenever he dared, the blond Slytherin had a look at Rose’s new appearance. Sitting on her left side, Scorpius could just barely make out the lip piercing on the right sight of her bottom lip. He had, however, a very clear view down the front of her shirt. Seriously, when had she grown those tits? The blond was sure she hadn’t had those last summer, when they all went on vacation to France and spent the majority of their time on the beach.

Scorpius woke from his thoughts and quickly turned his eyes away from the nice view down Rose’s shirt, when Rose’s brother Hugo kicked him under the table. The younger boy was sitting opposite Scorpius and had clearly noticed the blond’s staring.

The Malfoy heir seriously hoped Rose wouldn’t wear that kind of shirt in Hogwarts, or he would go insane. Or get killed by one of Rose’s many male relatives. Roxanne would probably love to have a go at him, too, if she found out he was staring at her cousin’s body in such a manner.

Absentmindedly he grabbed for the roasted potatoes and went on finishing dinner. He would crash at the Potter’s place, same as Rose and Hugo, and they would all go to the Diagon Alley together the next morning. He would catch her there and find out what exactly had been going through her mind when she decided to play good girl gone bad.

After dinner, Ginny thankfully announced that she was tired and wanted to return home. Her brother was about to protest, saying that as Rose’s father he wouldn’t allow her to- But Ginny cut him off in the same stern manner that Molly just used to force Arthur to shut up. Scorpius shuddered and wondered if Rose would develop the same scary tone once she grew up, or well, once she grew out of her current phase.

 

Later that evening Scorpius tried his best to silently sneak up the creaky stairs to Rose’s room under the roof at Grimauld Place. He could hear Ginny and Harry arguing in the living room. Albus was already asleep, and so was - hopefully - Lily Luna. Now if he could only make it up the damn stairs without alerting the arguing parents, that would be perfect.

Minutes later he stood in front of Rose’s room and called for his best friend. A little eternity later, the door opened and Rose let him into her room.

Most of the Potter-Wealey family had more or less fix assigned rooms at the Grimauld Place, and it was clear that this was Rose’s room. At particularly busy times she shared it with Roxanne, but the other Weasley only rarely brought any of her things here. The shelves were packed with books, Quidditch equipment and hairbands showing Rose’s love for reading and flying.

Rose closed the door behind Scorpius and sat on the bed, looking at him expectantly. She wore her short pyjama bottoms and a lose shirt. Scorpius didn’t know what to say, how to ask what had been bugging him since she nearly ran him over in Muggle London that afternoon, so he went for the next best that came to his mind. “How’s the tattoo?”

The girl gave him a crooked smile and turned around, lifting her shirt as she went. Scorpius swallowed hard. In the Burrow he hadn’t been able to see the tattoo very well, as it was always at least partially covered by her clothes. Now he was able to make out the size of the enormous dragon. The beast’s tail wound around her side and disappeared from his view, probably following the line of her hips further down her leg - well at least he hoped it was following her leg…

The wings spanned all over her back and both shoulders. The detail the tattoo artist had worked into the scales were amazing, and Scorpius wondered once more whether it was legal to have such a big tattoo done in one session.

Rose let the shirt fall back down and turned to face her blond friend. “It hurts like a bitch, if I’m honest”, she admitted with a small smile and Scorpius grinned: “Regretting it already?” She shook her head.

Scorpius dropped down on his back beside her on the bed and looked up into her eyes. “You caused quite the uproar today.” Her smile widened into a wicked, evil smirk. “Maybe” she replied.

“You never answered me. Why the new style? And why going to such extremes?”

The redhead carefully turned around and lay on her stomach beside him. “Have you ever heard anyone in my family being unaccepting of anything?” “You mean apart from the stunt you and Albus pulled when getting sorted into Slytherin? Never.” She sighed, raising her hand to play with her hair, only to realise that they were gone. That would take some getting used to…

“Even getting sorted into Slytherin didn’t cause a major issue. Mom and Ginny calmed Dad and Harry right down. Apart from getting completely wasted the night they found out, no one has ever spoken ill of the matter.”

“But that’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Scorpius asked. His father had been rather hesitant to accept Scorpius’ friendship with Albus and Rose, let alone the rest of the Potter-Weasley-Clan.  “It is. But it makes nothing worth fighting for, you know? Everything I am, everything I have has just been gifted to me, and like that… It feels hollow. I don’t even know who I am some days!”

There was a moment of stunned silence that followed her statement, and the only thing Scorpius could hear was their joined breathing and his own heartbeat. Then Rose continued: "My family is amazing. But they just take whatever I do and accept it. They support whatever I say I fancy, and it’s just… I know they do it out of love, and that’s amazing, but it’s not very satisfying either.

"Do you understand? It’s like I have so much given to me, I don’t really know what I want. I’ve never known hardship and pain. I don’t know what it means to not get something I like, what it means to truly fight for something I want…”

“So you decided to just try it out and see what happens?” Scorpius finally asked, when he found his voice again. Rose nodded, then shrugged: “I guess?” The blond smiled: “Ok then, fire girl.”

“So you’re not upset?” Scorpius shook his head. “Just a little.” The girl rose an eyebrow. “You beat me to getting a tattoo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this (finally) concludes this story.  
> There is a plethora of world building and more stories I could tell in this AU, but honestly? I’m very busy rewriting an old story, and fleshing out an absolute monster of a plot bunny. I just don’t have time to get back into HP stories.  
> However, this has gone unfinished for so long, I just felt I should finally finish it. And here we are.
> 
> Kudos make a happy author. Reviews are love.

**Author's Note:**

> And it's complete!
> 
> I'd really love to build upon this at some point in the future - in the far future! But for now, this is complete. If anyone would like to take the setting and run with it, let me know!


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